I am not well versed in politics. Honestly. I hate conflict. I can't hold my own in a debate without thorough research beforehand. Honestly I don't have much time these days for that. But I have views. I also hope I am open enough to consider other viewpoints when presented to me. To discuss. To share. To educate one another.

But I'm tired, so stinking tired of this political battle that keeps roaring on around us. We've gotten in a yelling match. That's all it is. No one is changing their minds. No one is open to listening. You've chosen your stance, and there is no going back. We've pitted ourselves against one another.

So why do we keep yelling? When we've lost the battle of trying to win people to our sides, we start complaining to the world about how tired we are of seeing this stuff rage on around us, and we'd wish everyone would hush.

I guess that's what I'm doing now.

But I guess what I'd like to say is that I feel there is a better way.

I remember a few years ago when the whole Chick-fil-a being boycotted because they support traditional marriages was raging on, and so in retaliation and support of Chick-fil-a all Christians and traditional marriage supporters flocked to Chick-fil-as around the country to show that same sex marriages are evil. And while that may not have been everyone's intent, that's what the message conveyed.

I think that's the problem with a lot of this. We support one thing, and that means we automatically condemn another thing. So let's be aware of that misconception, and make sure our actions can't be misinterpreted as something else. If we do things in action of love, can those intentions be misunderstood?

And all I can think as a Christian, is that we keep trying to apply commands and standards to a sinful world, when they have been given to followers of Christ alone. We expect that somehow a sinful world isn't supposed to do these sinful things.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. - 1 Corinthians 13:1

When we hold people to these standards that a Holy Spirit has not revealed Himself to, our words and actions which we believe support our beliefs are really nothing. When we don't choose to love the world instead of condemning it, everything we say and do is nothing but obnoxious. Nothing is heard over that clanging symbol.

Instead should we not be speaking these words of truth into our fellow believers? When the world says "same sex marriage is beautiful," so we yell back "it's an abomination and a sin", but we don't let them know first there's a love for them out there that can cover their sins (we don't introduce them to Christ first), we are nothing but a clanging symbol.When the world says "abortion is a woman's right", so we yell back "but adoption is another way!", but we don't adopt or foster, we are nothing but a clanging cymbal. When the world says "we can't close our doors to those who need us most", so we yell back "but we need to help the homeless and veterans in our country first", but we don't donate clothing, housing, money, and more to these individuals, we are nothing but a clanging cymbal.

So my thought is, what if we did what we were commanded? What if instead of spewing back an argument, we showed love? What if we decided we don't want the world to doubt our ability as Americans/Christians to adopt unaborted children, so we adopted and foster to the point every child had a home? What if we gave and volunteered our time, money, resources and more to the homeless and veterans the government didn't always have to step in to help them? What if we went overseas to assist those in need, or befriended our Muslim neighbor living here?

I'm not eloquent in what I say, I know this, and I'm not really sure I conveyed what I meant to say. But I can't help but think about the song from Matthew West and how it kind of perfectly sums this up...